Ok, I'm sorry. I just don't have a creative title in me today. And you think I would considering how cutesy the restaurant's name is. But really, I'm tired and i want a Coke. But I've got iced coffee and at least i'm posting, right? Allright, so last night, Katie, Dustin and I had dinner at Basta Pasta in the area that's known as Cambridgeport (the area west of Central Square and bordered by the Charles). We were looking for something quick, so Katie could make it to the gym post-dinner (which she didn't), and something relatively inexpensive. So at least we fulfilled half that goal.
Upon driving up to the restaurant, which is located on Western Ave., we discovered that there was no parking. Well, actually there was plenty of parking for people with Cambridge parking permits, but not for us. The only meter that existed was in front of the restaurant, but there was a police car parked there. So we ended up parking a few short blocks away on Putnam Ave.
When we walked into the restaurant, we found a cute neighborhood restaurant with a handful of tables and the menu written on a large chalkboard. Here's a pic of some customers who arrived after us. (and half of Dustin)
We put our order in and given that the restaurant was small and not packed (yet), we figured our food would come out fairly quickly. But we'd be wrong about that. Though we were entertained watching the Sox dominate their game against the Devil Rays, we were very cognizant of the fact that our food was taking forever to arrive. This gave me some time to observe our fellow diners. There were plenty of locals and 2 sets of cops (which I guess shouldn't be that surprising since the Cambridge police station is only a few blocks up from the restaurant.)Finally, our food was ready and we got 3 steaming bowls of pasta. Here's my dish, a chicken cacciatore with linguini. Lots of chicken and peppers. I found this very tasty and the portion was generous, so I took 1/3 of it home.
Meanwhile, here's Katie's special of the day. I considered ordering this, but opted for something different after Katie chose it. It has zucchini, chicken, grape tomatoes and I don't remember what else.
Katie liked it but not as much as she enjoyed Dustin's chicken marsala. And I gotta admit, Dustin's pasta looked pretty tasty to me, too.
Dustin also ordered some garlic bread (which I didn't take a picture of) and it was very good. Filled with butter, cheese and some spices, it also came with a side of pasta sauce. Unfortuantely by the time it arrived, he'd already finished his pasta. Also by this time, the small restaurant had filled up, all with locals who had clearly been there before. Dinner was very economically priced. I paid $11 for my pasta with a drink and like I said, I took some of it home. Katie pointed out that it's too bad they didn't have any dessert selections, but I was so full that i didn't mind too much.
I think the key to this place is to order ahead of time and arrive in time to eat. Or pick up your food and take it home (which a few people were also doing). The food was certainly tasty, so if I'm ever stuck in Central Square and looking for some place to eat, I'd make another visit to Basta Pasta.
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